Awakening
by Boredom-kills-big-time
Summary: When Bruce wakes up after the battle to find that the Avengers are missing a team mate, he suddenly realises that maybe his friendship with Tony was something more. He is certain when Tony starts entering his dreams that he is going crazy. Time, however, leaves Banner wondering what is real and what is a dream. Character death. Some slight Cap bashing and everyone hates SHIELD.


**A/N – Oh my God, I've wrote something **_**and**_** it looks like it's going to be more than two chapters long! You should be proud of me. So anyway, warnings? I don't actually know, not in this chapter anyway. I'll put a warning on a chapter if it has anything worth warning about.**

**Disclaimers: I don't own Avengers. If I did, Bruce and Tony would be together.**

* * *

"Are you sure, Tony? I could stay and take care of everything while you deal with this Avengers thing."

Tony's smile didn't quite reach his eyes which were trained on the hologram of the Hulk fighting Abomination, tearing everything apart all the while.

"I've got a lot of homework, Pepper; I need to show these guys that I know my stuff. Go ahead to D.C, keep the love alive."

Stepping forward, Tony started to flick through the files, staying clear of the Hulks file and looking closely at the Tesseract. He kept up this act until he heard Peppers heels fade as the door closed behind her. Not even a goodbye. Leaning forward on the table Tony's fingers slipped up to trace the arc reactor, remembering a time when they had been a team, closer than Tony had ever been with anyone before. He couldn't work out where it had all went wrong…

With a sudden intake of breath, he pushed off the table and finally strode over to the Hulks file.

_Doctor Bruce Banner._

The son of some crazy, alcoholic, physicist who thought that exposure to nuclear energy had, somehow, mutated this son's genes. His theory was 'proven' when Bruce started showing signs of high intelligence at a young age. This _obviously_ meant that his son was some sort of 'monster'. His wife's deep love for Bruce seemed to add to this hatred and began to abuse his son and wife. Of course, one day this went too far and ended up killing his wife. Despite Bruce being scared into submission, Brian ended up in an asylum when he bragged of his wife's murder, wait for it: to a whole pub.

_Man. And I thought my childhood was quite bad._

Shaking his head, Tony continued reading Banner's file. The next section when on to explain how Bruce became the Hulk. Tony couldn't tell much about the incident what with lots of information and names having been blanked out of the file. Doctor Banner's files suggested that the accident that created the Hulk was no accident at all and Tony could tell that SHIELD had done next to nothing to put a lead on General Ross's obsession with ruining Banner's life. SHIELD could try and act the hero but Tony Stark knew that nine times out of ten they turned a blind eye. Tony couldn't help but think that this was why he had a piece of shrapnel trying to crawl its way into his heart.

Leaning back, Tony found his mind playing over Doctor Banner's file. What sort of person was Bruce Banner? Had being abused turned Bruce into a quiet and composed person? Or was Banner always craving the attention he didn't have as a child? Tony hoped he would find out soon.

* * *

He wasn't, however, going to follow Captain -_fucking_ –America into the meeting with Fury and the others. A part of Tony blamed Steve for making his childhood lonely and unhappy. He really couldn't see why Howard had such an obsession with him, sure he was a good fighter, that couldn't be argued, but he was just another lab experiment.

"Mr Stark," Agent Coulson, aka: Peppers new boyfriend, called to him, obviously waiting to escort him to the meeting. He started hearing voices coming from the meeting room. He could now easily recognize Captain America's voice, and Natasha's, well she _had _been working for him for a while. Thor's accent was also easy to pinpoint.

There was one more voice but it wasn't at all hard for Tony to guess who it was.

"I think it's about the mechanics. Iridium, what do they need Iridium for?" Calm but at the same time a little insecure.

"Stabilizing material."

He kept talking, kept walking, trying not to seem obvious that he was eyeing the doctor up with interest. Bruce Banner was just like the file picture, only a bit thinner and wearier. This was the man who had spent the last two years on the run, just because the army were a bunch of stupid pricks.

"He's got to heat the cube to a hundred and twenty million Kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier."

Once again, he couldn't stop himself from answering and wandered round the table to meet him.

"Unless, Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the quantum tunnelling effect," Tony said

"Well, if he could do that," Banner continued, "He could achieve heavy ion fusion at any reactor on the planet."

Tony couldn't stop himself from grinning. He knew that Banner was smart, that much was obvious even from the files, but to actually be able to talk to him without dumbing down everything he said , unlike Rodgers, was a breath of fresh air.

"Finally, someone who speaks English."

Rogers said something, but Tony wasn't listening.

"It's good to meet you, Doctor Banner. Your work on anti-electron collisions is unparalleled." Even as he was speaking, he couldn't stop himself from grinning, and added a teasing comment onto the end.

"And I'm a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster."

"Stabilizing material."

Tony Stark walked into the room, followed closely by Agent Coulson. They looked like they had been having a conversation outside, but Bruce couldn't really tell.

Watching Tony Stark walk around the room made Bruce smile despite himself. Tony was putting on a show, like a peacock strutted around with its feathers showing, Tony wandered around talking about a subject that he was sure hardly ever cropped up when making robots. Agent Hill commented on that thought and Tony, without even hesitating, made a snarky comment about only learning it last night.

When Steve asked another obvious question, Bruce couldn't stop himself from answering, just to get Stark's attention.

"He's got to heat the cube to a hundred and twenty million Kelvin just to break through the Coulomb barrier."

"Unless, Selvig has figured out how to stabilize the quantum tunnelling effect," Stark said, smiling.

"Well, if he could do that," Bruce added, fighting himself not to smile. "He could achieve heavy ion fusion at any reactor on the planet."

"Finally, someone who speaks English."

Well, Christ on a crutch, if he could impress Mr Stark Industries himself, he could impress anyone. Five years ago he would have been jumping for joy but Bruce was too busy studying Tony. He didn't seem scared; not like Natasha did, by the tremor in her voice or Steve did by the weary look in his eyes. He wasn't afraid of Bruce.

"It's good to meet you, Doctor Banner. Your work on anti-electron collisions is unparalleled."

Did Tony not know who he is? What he is?

"And I'm a huge fan of the way you lose control and turn into an enormous green rage monster."

Ok, maybe he did.

"Thanks," Bruce muttered, surprised but happy at Tony's teasing comment.

* * *

**A/N-Aw gosh, this is short. I swear I'll try and write more in the next chapter. I thought I'd say that I'm basing Bruce mostly on the 2008 film "The incredible Hulk" with small details from the comic and Tony is purely based on the movie. Well, let's face it, Robert Downey jr is amazing in Iron man and the Avengers.**


End file.
